Engine-starter.



J., I.. LAKE L G. w. BEYERLE.

ENGINE STARTER. APPLITIOH 'ILE` MAY l, 1914.

1 1 2.5, 1 Patented Jam.v 19, 1915.

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UNiTE snaar JOHN L. LAKE AND GEORGE WILLIAMBEYERLE, OE CLEVELAND, OHIO, assumons To THE MILITAIRE AUTO COMPANY, or CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OE OHIO.

ENGINE-STARTER. -V

' Application aiea may i, 1914. senat no. assess.

To aZZ whom yzz. may concern:

' ing drawings.

Be it known that we, Jona' ILAKE, a subject of the King of Great Britain and a citizenof the Dominion of Canada, and- GEORGE ll ILLIAM BEYERLE, a citizen of the llnited States. both residing at Cleveland, in

the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio,

have invented a certain new and useful 1mprovement in Engine-Starters, of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyl `This invention relates to 'that class of mechanisms. known as engine starters, which are used for imparting initial rotation to the crank shafts of internal combustion engines for the purpose of compressi-ng a charge of gas in the cylinder of the engine,jprior' to igniting the same.

Our invention has for its general object to provide a vmechanism ofthe above character which is simple Aofconstruction; easy of operation; and which is very durable.

To those familiarv with the action of internal combustion engines, it is well known that, Incident to the starting of the engine,v 'should the spark control be wrongly adjusted. the engine back-fires which means that'the charge of gasis ignited and the explosion takes place before the piston hasA reached the upper end of its stroke.. This results in the crank shaft being given a violent turn in the reverse directionto that given it by the starting mechanism, and unv'less some means is provided forl disconnecting the-mechanism from the shaft under such conditions, the mechanism is liable to damage and the operator to injury.

It is a further and very important object of our invention, therefore. to provide means for automatically freeing the starting mechanism from the crank shaft of the engine,

when the crank shaft is rotated in the tlirection opposite to that imparted to it by said mechanism.- j

lVhile we do not confine the use of our invention to any particular type or size of internal combustion engines.v it is especially adaptedl for use with the engines of motorcycles, and we have shown it in such connection in the accompanying drawing mechanism and ing, it being deemed advisable, for purpose of clearness, 'to include only 'such parts of the motorcycle, in the drawing. as will serve to show the manner of supporting the starti y its-relation to vthe engine. y In the drawing, Figure 1 represents a plan view of the mechanism, said figure in Throughout th'e following description,

similar 'referenceycharacters will be used to designate corresponding parts in the several views of the drawing.

Pi-xu 'ng from the crank case 1 of the 'engine- 's the end of the crank shaft 2, the

same being provided with a collar 3 just inside of the crank case. The extreme outer end of the crank shaft is threaded forthe recept-ion of a circular nut a, which has notches 5 for; the application of a suitable wrench. Clamped between the innerv face of the nut 4 and the opposed surface of the collar 3 is' the inner end of a cylindrical coupler-member 6. said member having a central bore, a portion whereoadjacent its inner end. is of a size to fit the end O'f the shaft E?, while the oppo'site'end of the bore is o f greater diameter thanl said former portion. whereby a shoulder 7 is formed. against which abuts the inner end of the nut 4. The outerend of the coupler-member 6 is provided with a lateral flange 8 that is con- 4 upon the couplermember 6 is a driving clutch member 16, and theopposed facesot'- rection ind'icated'byfthe' arrows in Figs. 1`

and' 3, which is the running direction of rotation-of they 'enginesn For descriptive purpose I sumed that' the shaft-2 projects from the' rear side'o2 thej crank case, and,.tlierefore, the end of the @mechanism ,adjacent the crank case will be referred to as the front end. Tothe rear of its clutch face, 'the clutch member 16 is provided with a circumferential, angle gear 19; 'and still to the rear of the gear 19, the member is provided with a laterally-,projecting lug 21 havingan in clinedface 22, 'as shown verycleaily in `Figs. d and '5.' Extending from `diametrically opposite pointsof the flange `8, toward the 'rear end of theA clutch member 16, are a pair of sleeves 23, which contain -plungers Qdthat are pressed against said'chitch Imember by springs 25. These springs'fare comparatively light and, under certain' conditions which will be explained hereinafter, tend .to Arnove the' clutch member .1d toward the clu'tchfrnember 111.

' llt will be 'stated at thistimdthat when our invention is used in connection with motorcycles, it is very convenient, and therefore preferable, to (rperateit' by foot, althoughwe wish tovloe understood as not limitingourselves to such almethod oi. actuating the mechanism, as it' will become ob-v vious as thisdescription proceeds, `that other means might be just as 'well employed forl such purpose.

26 represents a; member of'y the vniotorcycle frame that' is' located to one side' of the crankcase, and extends in af;'directionv v that is parallel to the shafts 2 andx12., and is in) about the same' horizontal planen' Willi/ile we'have shown butl one frame member 2G, it 'will be'I understood thatvaf corresponding member `is located, on the opposite side of the vcrank vcaslyat the; same distance :from its center asftlie one shown in the ldrawing; and connecting the two side rnerfvibersy is a transverse framemember 27 tha-tliscurved downwardly underneath the shaft 12,l as shown in Figs/1, 2, and d.

\ .Project-ing inwardly and then down wardly from the frame member 2b, in trans- .verse alinement with' the clutch ilnember 16,

is a bracket 28 which comprises la body'polf-V tion that is secured tothe trameflmember, and end .plates 29, which carry, at i their lower ends.- a bolt 30. that is secured within the bracket by anut 3l.. Journaled upon the agregar-.eo

bolt 30 betweenthe end plates 29, is 'the hub E32 of an angle gear segment 33 which mesheswith the angle gear 19' of the clutch member 16. spring 3%, which"` is coiled about one end ofthe hub 32, has one, of its ends anchored in one ofthe end plates 29,

and its opposite end," attached to a pin 35 which projects from one sideof` one of the spokes 36 of the segment 33'.- Projecting outwardly rom the hub 32 beneath the' frame member 26 andthen upwardly, `is

an arm4 SLthe same being provided, atits upper end, .with a'suitable 'toot tread '38. Directly'beneath the frame member M26, the

farm4 is enlarged toform a vertically Adis-v posed, hollow, cylindrical boss 39,-and Within'this boss 1s' containedA a rubber plug or .bumper 40, vforcoperation withl the under neath side of the frame member 26, the

, aforesaidA .spring i3d .being turned about the,

hub 32 in such a diretion las willlcause the segment 4to be .thrown downward and. the arm 37 upward-to cause the plug 40 to con tact with thev underneath, side of the fnamer member. 26@

ljrojecting forwardly from'the transverse 'frame `member'2directly beneath the rear end of tbeclutclrI member 16, is a bracket 411, which earries abloclr 4.2.'that'is locked within its' forward, bifurcated end, by a bolt 43.'

A projection'dt' rises roin'the block and has an inclined aced lfor cooperation with the inclined face 22l ofthe llug 21 that extends laterally from the rear fend of the clutch member 16. 'vlhe purpose. ozt'- these coper* e ating parts' will be broughtaout in the,V descriptionof the'operaton of the mechanism l which follows.

` When itis desired toA start the enginc,the

operator .places hi's-oojt'npon the-tread 38 of the 'arm '37 and presses vsaid armi downwardly against the tensions-of the spring 34, rocking the segment 33 and thereby rotating the clutch memberl through approximately I 270. 'The inclination of' the teeth (1f/the;

gear 19 and the teethfothe segment 33 is rio suoh'as will oause the clutch member 16 to .I

be slid forwardly-on the coupler member.- ti

and intol engagement' with'the `clutch meme.

ber 141i,v ln fact, before the 'clutch' member'v 16'has been rotated any appreciable distance,

iis

it Awill have been advanced into engagement with the clutchmember 14, the 'longitudinal movement of the clutclrmember 16 beingpartially .,ed'ected by the springV lpressed plungers24. Now, therefore, it will beseen that when'the arm 37.1ias,A beenppushed downwardly, the clutch member 16' will have been thrown into engagement with the clutch member 1d, and rotatedin .the direciat tion indicated? by the. arrows in Figs; 1V and '3. When thel lstarting'.ofthe engineis etleeted and the shaft isbeing driven' inthe aforesaid direction, the incline'dportions of the teeth 1K will rideover I the teeth maaien force the clutch member 16 away from the clutch member 14. 'With the gear and segment of the proportions shown, the clutch memberl' will be given aboutthree quar- ,5l ters of a rotation, or an angular movement of about 270, as previously mentioned, by

one complete swing ofthe segment 33. This amount. of rotation is suicient, usually, to effect the starting of the engine, if the piswlton isili the act of making a compression stroke with the chargel slightly compressed, when the arm, 37 is in normal position. If v'these conditonsdo not exist at thetime the I operator starts the depression of the arm, igeL may depress the arm until he feels that member16, said clutch lmember be disengaged from the member 14, in order that no .backward mvement of thel latter clutch member be effected. Such disengagement is assured by the inclination of the teeth of the gear andA segment. Furthermore, shouldpthe engine fail to start upon the first threefourths rotation of the crank shaft which is efectedb'v the first compiete depression of the arm 37, as many successive actuations of the arm may be made, in rapid succession, as is found necessary to effect such starting. Should the engine back fire, as previously explained, the clutch-member 14 will' be given. 'a violent turn in the direction opposite to that indicated bythe arrows in the drawing, and will carry the clutch member 16 with it, until 'the inclined face .of its lug 21 engages the inclined face of the pro- 'jection L14, and the coperation of the lug and projection will cause a positive rearl ward pull upon the member 1G and remove its clutch face entirely from the clutch face of the member 14. From this it will be seen that no damage can be caused through the back-firing of the engine either, to the mechanism or the operator.

Referring again to the spring pressed plungers 24C.v it will be remembered that they are in frictional Contact with the rear face of l'the clutch member 16. Therefore, be-

- vsides tending to slide the clutch member 16 toward the clutch member 14 as previously described, they also act Ito retard its rotalti'on, whereby the inclined teeth of the gear 1.9 and the segment 33 are rendered more effective in first sliding the clutch member 16 into engagement with the clutch member During this pre- 14 before any appreciable amount of rotation of the former-has occurred.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is 4 1. In mechanism of the character set forth, the combination, with a member to'be rotated, of a clutch member carried thereby, a second clutch member which is rotatable upon substantially the same center as the first .clutch member and movable toward and away from the same, said second clutch member having a projection and a circumferential gear, a gear segment for coperation with the aforesaid gear whereby the second clutch member may be rotated, means tending to move the second clutch member into engagement with the first clutch member, and a device which is adapted to cooperate with .the Aaforesaid projection for movingy the second clutch member out of engagement with the irst when its direction of rotation is reversed.

Q1. In mechanism of the character set forth, the combination, with a member to be rotated, of a clutch member carried thereby,

a second clutch member which is rotatable upon substantially the same center as the first clutch member and movable toward and away from the same, said second clutch member having a proJection and a ycircumferential angle gear, a device for coperay 4tion with the projection which, when the' second clutch member is rotated to cause its projection to engage saidI device,l will move Vsaid second clutch inember'away from the first, and an angle gear segment for cooperation with `the aforesaid gear whereby said gear may be rotated in one direction and moved into engagement with -the first mentioned clutch member.

'3. n mechanism of the character set forth, the combination, with a member to be rotated, of a clutch member carried thereby, a second clutch member which is rotatable upon substantiallvthe same centerv as the first clutch member andmovable toward and away from the same, said second clutch member having a projection and a circumferential gear, a device which is arranged to be engaged by the aforesaid projection when tlie second mentioned clutch member is rotated in one direction, the projection having an inclined facefor engagement with the device, means tending to move the second mentioned clutch member toward the first, and a gear segment for coperation with the aforesaid gear whereby the, second clutch member may be oscillated.

4:. In mechanism of the character set forth, the combination, with a member to be rotated. of a clutch member carried thereby,

a second clutch member which 'is rotatable upon substantially the same center as the first clutch member and movable toward and away from the same, said second clutch reo member having a projection anda circumferential angle gear, a device for coperation with the projection which, when the second clutch member is rotated to cause its projection to engage said device, will move said Second clutch member away from the nrst, an angle gear segment tor'coperation with the' aforesaid gear whereby said gear L may be rotated in one direction and moved into engagement with the i'irst .mentionec clutch member, means'for rocking the se@v inent,l and fiirther means tending to rotate the' gear in the direction to bring itsf .pro-

jection into engagement with. the ,aforesaid device.

l 5. n mechanism of' the character set forth, the combinatiomwith a. member to' be rotated,of a clutch 'member carried thereby,

a second clutch member which is rotatable' upon substantiallythe .saine center as the .first clutch member andinorab'leitoward and aiyay from the same, said second clutch member having a circuii'iferential angle gear, means 'for retardng the rotation of the second-,clutch member, andan angle gear i segment'coperatingwith the aforesaid gear.

iso'

6.v Iny mechanism of the' characterr set forth, the combination, with a member to be rotated, of a. clutch member carried thereby,

a second clutch-member which is rotatable upan "siibstantially the same center vas the `first clutch member and movable toivard and away ,from the same, said second clutch v -member having a' circun'iferentialy angle gear, means for retarding the ,rotation of i'the second clutch member, and means co- Aoperating with said' gear 'forrotating the second yclutch member and moving it toward the IvStl" .40'

7. In' mechanism of* the character setforth, the combination, with a member to be rotated, of a clutch member carried thereby, a second clutch member which is rotatable upon substantially the same center as the rst clutch' member and movable toward and l away from the. same, said second clutch member having a projection and a circumerential gear, a device which is arranged to be engaged b v the aforesaid projection .when i the second mentioned clutch member is rotated in one direction, the device having an inclined face :for engagement by the projection, means tending to more the second clutch member towardthe rst, and a gear segment for coperation with the aforesaid is rotated. in the opposite direction, will v cause a separation of the clutch members.

in testimony whereof, We hereunto ahx our signaturesin the` presence of vtwo Witnesses.

JUHN L, LAKE. v GEQRSGE l/VJLLIAM BEYERLE. Witnesses:

ANAMAE A. livnnsoiv, Brennerei; B. tVEsT. 

